Sunday, 26 April 2015

Well, it was very nice to see the sun on Thursday for our quilting session together. I think everyone was well and truly 'over' the storms and constant rain!

Huddled cosily in our beloved hall, there was plenty of busy stitching, sorting, designing, basting and all other associated tasks going on. If you look around, you'd be amazed at the variety of work in progress.

Kerry is updating all contact information in order to produce new lists. These will be distributed when ready. Please let Kerry know if there are any changes to your name, address, contact numbers (including emergency contacts), email addresses etc. It's so important for effective communication to keep all this information exact and current. Thanks for that.

Robyn would like more blocks to increase the size of the Traditional Raffle Quilt. If everyone could do at least one more, that would be great. Please see or contact Robyn for details of colours needed. Thanks.

Thanks to Janet for the hard job of selecting new books for our library from the donated pile. It's a constant job to keep the limited space we have filled with useful and desirable books, without overloading the cupboard. Four new books have been added, and some very large ones which may have general appeal but may be too heavy to borrow on a regular basis, will be kept on the bottom shelf as if they were "coffee table" books. A couple are very beautiful and important books which will have long-term historical and research value. I'm sure every quilter will respect and care for the book collection. Please feel free to browse any time. You may be surprised what you find!

I'd be interested to hear from members about Josie's suggestion of hiring a bus to the Manly Quilt Exhibition in July. Thanks to Betty for contacting the community centre and gathering all the details for us. It's quite doable financially, so it's just a matter of how much interest there is. We can have a small bus holding 11 members, or a larger one holding 19 members. We should decide by next Thursday I think, so let me know if you're interested. Otherwise we can just car-pool it.

Eastwood Quilt Show is coming up next weekend. Always a good event. You can check all dates, times etc on our website, thanks to Iris!

SHOW AND TELL

We have the first outcome from the Challenge set by Jess. The challenge has come to be known as "Inspiration - Monstrisity to Magic!"

Typical, first off the mark has been Jenny, with this lovely cushion. Outstanding!

Remember, you don't have to make a double-bed size quilt or anything. It can be something modest and yet practical and gorgeous such as this. You can also add, subtract, embellish or indeed do whatever you want. Nothing authoratarian about this challenge! Have fun, spread your creative wings!

Well done Jenny! First cab off the rank!

The cute quilt below is the latest baby one for the Grace Centre. Thanks to Lindy M for this little elephant beauty. Very cute!

Iris told us a sweet story of a group knitting teddies for the Redfern Police unit. The teddies are kept in the police cars, and used for any traumatised children encountered during the police work. What a wonderful initiative! These few were knitted by June and Robyn S. Thank you girls. They are so cute and valuable.

So, another enjoyable group this week, as always. What a joy it is to come and share our skills, our worries and our hopes and adventures with friends. See you next week again.

Sunday, 19 April 2015

We have enjoyed the sound of happy laughter and play while the school holidays have been on. It means a few little visitors on Thursdays, and a new generation being introduced to the wonders of quilt making! Things will seem much quieter next week with them all back at school.

Thanks to Susan St J for bringing a fresh lot of batting to our stocks. We now have both poly down and poly cotton available.

Both show quilts are coming along very nicely. Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. There will still be plenty of work to help out with as they are assembled and completed.

Joy is still looking for people to fill the empty kitchen roster spots. Have a look to make sure you have put your name down.

Quite a few shows and exhibitions coming up in the next few months. They all look worth seeing, and a nice day trip has great appeal at this time of year. See the notice board at the hall for details, or check the link on our website where Iris is keeping an up-to-date list with details. Thanks Iris.

SHOW AND TELL

I have added the shots of the two baby quilts which I didn't have last blog. They were done by Barbara Ward from the CWA and Sue D.

Monday, 13 April 2015

Well we had a full hall again last Thursday, with still more sorting of fabric from the cupboards. We won't know ourselves once everything has been culled and distributed.

We still have fabric, books and quilting equipment to distribute to the group. These come from a few quilters who are downsizing, moving and so on. Best done bit by bit so that good decisions can be made regarding what can be kept by the whole group and what can be offered to the whole group to select as their own. The library and community coordinators will have first choice of course. Thank you to Judith and Norma for their generosity. Everything will find a 'good home' I assure you.

Jess is constantly using her brain to imagine and create! Last Thursday she had one of those 'ah ha!' moments as she was sorting fabric. She found a very 'curious' piece which would take quite a creative mind to envisage into a quilt, shall we say! It stimulated her to suggest a new challenge for us all. Take a piece of your fabric stash or something from the piles at the hall, which seems to defy logic in the quilting sense. It could also be a piece which sends you into an inspirational mood. Use this piece as a medallion centre, and build a quilt around it! This could be done individually, in pairs or in groups. We can have a 'grand showing' session later in the year to have a look at each other's creations. They can be aimed at community or for other purposes. I hope I've got this right Jess. Correct me if not. As a start then, try and have a hunt through your stash and grab that fabric that has 'something' about it, but you've never quite figured out what to do with it. I know I have a few like that! Bring them along to maybe swap with others who can see some inspirational use for it. Let's give it a try!

We could call the project "Monstrosity or Inspirational Magic!"

Still more morning tea roster gaps. Please have a look and see if you can help out. Doesn't have to be uber-fancy, just something to help the tea and coffee go down? We all should do at least two mornings a year. Not too much to ask I think.

Thank you so much to Robyn S for delivering 50 baby quilts to the Grace Centre last Wednesday. They were thrilled as always, and declared that they would love some more. Mothers Day is coming up and that is a special one for the mums of these particular babes.

Two new ones were delivered this week, but I forgot the take shots of them, so I'll include them in next week's blog. Thanks to Barb Ward from the CWA and Susan D.

A new quilting star is on the rise! Susie's daughter Lily is working on her first quilt at the ripe old age of 5 years. There she was at the machine, (on mum's lap) stitching away. Colour selection, placement, decisions, decisions! Here are a couple of shots of her showing the work in progress with proud mum and grandma.........

Well done Lily. We can't wait to see the finished product!

Iris was telling us all about how she has been finding anonymous 'bags of stuff' during the sort-out. She wanted to demonstrate what can be achieved by taking such stuff and trying to make something of it. Below you can see a quilt she put together in just such a way, and following is one Jenny had a go at. Both have come up remarkably well! It just goes to show..........

Last but not least, moving away from quilts, but still in the stitching realm, Maree K had a cute pattern for a doll, and some fabric. Robyn J declared she could make it, no problem! Well of course she could! We all know that! And a gorgeous result was there to see and enjoy..........

See you all next Thursday. As you can see there's no stopping a HH Qilter with some fabric, a needle and some thread.

Saturday, 4 April 2015

Well, it was a busy hall this week, even though quite a few girls were clearly gone for Easter breaks already. Feverish action was going on at the cupboards as Iris lead a team of willing helpers to sort, cull and organise all our stocks. It will make a huge difference to our storage capacity I believe.

Many thanks to Iris and all the people who stepped up to lend a hand. The payoff was a table groaning with remnants for the taking, and plenty made the most of that! Good job all.

Fees are now overdue for this year, and Grace reports that we currently have close to 60 paid-up members. A good size for the group I think. Well done to Grace for getting her head around the treasurer position so quickly and efficiently. What a find!

Joy reports that there are a few gaps in the kitchen duty roster, most urgently at the end of April and start of June. If you haven't put your name down yet, or are able to do an extra week, please take a glance at the roster and see if you can help out. Thanks Joy for keeping a keen eye on things in the kitchen.

Deb L has sent out an email regarding the Retreat in August. Hard copies have been given to non-email people. Time to decide and sign up so that numbers can be assessed. It's always a fabulous few days away, and this year will be a different time weather-wise. Should be lovely! Thanks Deb.

Plenty of accolades for quite a few of our membership this week. They are as follows:

Heather won a 3rd prize at the Easter Show's Bed Quilt Category with her quilt from our last show. It was "Butterflies, Bugs and All Things Nice". Well done Heather!

Jess has an article about her and instructions for one of her quilts in the current edition of Homespun.

Well done Jess!

Kathy D has a very nice article about he doings in the April edition of the Northern District Times. Well done Kathy!

And the entire group has an article about their last show (2014) in the current edition of Australian Patchwork and Quilting (Vol 24 No 9). Well done everyone!

What a famous lot we are!

Susan H was kind enough to pick up a small brochure with details about an exhibition in Gymea from August to October. It's at the Hazelhurst Gallery & Arts Centre. The exhibition is titled "Labours of Love" , and will feature over 30 items from mid 1800's to the present day. Our Jess has a couple of entries in I believe. It sounds well worth the trip! For more details you could google it or just ask next group to see the brochure. Thanks Susan.

Robyn S now has over 50 baby quilts packed up ready to deliver to The Grace Centre! Well done girls, and thank you so much Robyn for coordinating this initiative and doing the deliveries. We really appreciate it.

Well, as I said, a very busy week. Finally we come to Show and Tell:

First another three baby quilts to add to the pile. One from Jenny, then Judy and lastly Karen (in that order).

The next quilt was made up from donated squares given by a friend of Val's. Grace added some borders, put it together and quilted it. A wonderful result which will now be donated to the community collection.

During the cupboard clean out, Iris found the following gem. It was part of a challenge from the very early days of the group, probably around 1988'ish. June tells us that each member had to make a square representing themselves. I think I've got that part of the story right! It was a hoot of a find, and caused much mirth and enjoyment. Iris plans to erect it somewhere amongst our hall collection I think. Take a look.....

The next shot shows how the colours are working so well together for our traditional raffle quilt design. Looking good.......

And last but not least a shot of Robyn packing up the 50 baby quilts for the Grace Centre. Fantastic work all!

Easter greetings all. Sorry the blog is so late. Sometimes my camera and computer refuse to talk to one another, so I have to wait till they sort out their differences to get the photos across!!###@! Don't you love technology? Cheers!